Dave Feliciano, a former police officer from Spartanburg, SC with no political background, plans to challenge Lindsey Graham for his Senate seat in November. Feliciano showed up to a news conference that three other Graham opponents were holding at the statehouse yesterday and signed a pact to support one another against Graham, The State reports:

Feliciano signed the pact with state Sen. Lee Bright, Easley businessman Richard Cash and Orangeburg Attorney Bill Connor before the news event began and each candidate gave a statement...

The pledge says: "We, the undersigned genuine conservative Republicans, agree to endorse whichever one of our fellow signers advances to the run-off election against incumbent Senator Lindsey Graham following the South Carolina Republican primary election for the U.S. Senate on the 10th of June 2014."

But it was Feliciano's statement at the podium that made headlines:

Feliciano said, "It's about time that South Carolina (says) hey, We're tired of the ambiguously gay senator from South Carolina. We're ready for a new leader to merge the Republican Party. We're done with this. This is what it's about, all of us coming together and saying, one way or the other, one of us is going to be on that ballot in November."

Comments

Well, we have been calling ol' Linds gay for years (and way to go with the Golden Gate reference, dipshit) - but this cop is even worse. Ugh.

Posted by: Tigernan | Mar 14, 2014 7:59:19 AM

I was introduced to Lindsey Graham a few years ago and (embarrassingly) at the time didn't have any idea who he was, other than being a senator from South Carolina. I was surprised that a deep-south state would elect such a flamboyantly gay man. Only afterward did I read about him and find out that not only does he claim not to be gay, but he supports his constituents' typically anti-gay sentiments. I don't approve of what his opponent said, but I do appreciate hypocrites being exposed for their hypocrisy. On one hand I don't like making assumptions based upon stereotypes, but Graham hit a 10 on my gaydar.

Posted by: Unambiguously Gay | Mar 14, 2014 8:02:22 AM

Well he's never married or has ever been linked to any woman. Nor does he have any kids.

Still we have to take Senator Graham at his word if there is no concrete proof. If he's actually closeted he must be living his own personal hell so I would pity him if he were.

Posted by: Brian W. | Mar 14, 2014 8:14:17 AM

Angry, bigoted woodchuck cop vs Aunt Pittypat. Sounds about right for South Carolina politics. A pox on both of their houses.

Posted by: DavidAz | Mar 14, 2014 8:32:03 AM

To me the issue in this is NOT if Lindsey Graham is gay or straight; I am MUCH more offended by the use of "ambiguously gay" as a smear to say that Graham is therefore not qualified to be teh senator. Feliciano is a disgusting troglodyte

Posted by: rjinva | Mar 14, 2014 8:36:54 AM

So every gay man knows that Graham is gay, but calling him gay is the worst thing that anyone can do?

And if he's not "ambiguously gay", then exactly what is he? He's a gay man pretending he's not gay. That's somehow not "ambiguous"?

And how is being gay, denying you're gay and voting against gays mean that you ARE qualified to be Senator?

Not a single comment so far makes any sense whatsoever.

There's nothing wrong with being gay. There's nothing wrong with telling the truth. There's nothing wrong with telling the truth about being gay.

There's not a thing that's right, however, about the ambiguously gay Graham.

Posted by: oncemorewithfeeling | Mar 14, 2014 9:08:44 AM

I second Rjinva's comment. The issue is not whether he is gay or not but that Feliciano is "sick of having an ambiguously gay" senator.

Posted by: Bestcomments | Mar 14, 2014 9:09:03 AM

Lets not forget that Justice Kagan has never been linked to a man but we don't beat her up because she is not anti-gay. However, wouldn't it be an enormous step to have an openly gay Supreme Court Justice? At some point, isn't there an obligation to step forward? Or what does it say about the "concept" of being gay if one can't step forward and be proud of who they are? Kagan has been a huge supporter of gay rights for decades but her silence on her personal life sorta offends me because I respect her work and take her seriously. I don't take Graham seriously. He's a joke. And the creeps running against him are just as vile.

Posted by: M | Mar 14, 2014 9:26:12 AM

Ambiguous Senator, meet ambiguous cop.

Posted by: Tom Beauchamp-Arnold | Mar 14, 2014 9:40:48 AM

This "candidate" who is opposing Graham is CLASSIC. That face is the face of the bully straight white male who cannot abide power being in the hands of someone who does not comport to the straight-white-males-rule credo. It is classic, this absolute assumption on the part of straight white males that they must be the ones who establish the social hierarchy in our society --or else--! They must be the ones who establish how low on their totem pole the blacks are, how low the gays are, the women, the ethnic minorities, etc. This guy seems to be saying: OK, this ridiculous experiment where our state is representated by women, or gays, or blacks... is OVER! Time to reclaim power, fellows!! (meaning, STRAIGHT WHITE MEN!)

Posted by: Dan Cobb | Mar 14, 2014 9:44:25 AM

@Oncemorewithfeeling

Sure, there's nothing wrong with being openly gay, now please go explain that to the electorate in South Carolina.

Back in the real world, if Lindsey Graham came out, his political career would be over, and a moderate Republican from the deep south would be replaced by a hard-right Republican from the deep south. How does that help anything? Graham doesn't go out of his way to harm other gay people like other closeted politicians have, so if he doesn't want to come out, then that's fine. Everyone knows he's gay anyways.

Posted by: petes | Mar 14, 2014 9:44:55 AM

What about Nancy Mace, the Citadel graduate and the most likely opponent to dethrone him?

Posted by: MIke | Mar 14, 2014 9:48:41 AM

Mike, I wondered about Nancy Mace too. I guess she'd rather re-elect "nancy boy" Graham than any of the other challengers. She retweeted a tweet referring to Graham as a "nancy boy", so she's trying to mine homophobia for votes, too.

Posted by: Dastius Krazitauc | Mar 14, 2014 10:05:47 AM

Why would it matter if he is or is not gay? Has he done a good job for the state? Or has he done a bad one? The Police officer has come right out and admits he is a bigot. If he hates gays, who else does he hate? Blacks, Jews, Muslims, Mexicans, Any one who it not white? He looks like a skin head racist to me. That has to be better choices on the democratic side of the race.